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Friday, May 30, 2014

The Expat Expectation

Expat- short for expatriate; a person who permanently or temporarily lives in a country other than that of their upbringing.

If you are an expat living abroad there are some expectations you must meet. Today I'll focus on one that we are expected to do annually- report to the immigration office in the capital city.

What's interesting is how the office and the whole experience has changed since we arrived in 2008 (woah! 2008?? I just had to check my math!) When we first arrived there were many unknowns (some of these still apply today)-
would there be traffic in the towns in between?
would there be a short wait or a long wait?
is the power going to be on?
will we arrived during lunch time or prayer time?
is today a holiday?

The immigration office has been recently renovated. It resembles an office in Java. There's a nice new desk with people who seem willing to point you in the right direction. It's been such an easy experience- we meet our document guy, take a photo, sign some papers, fingerprint, take some more photos, go grab lunch.

 
This was Kate's first time to "check-in". She had her photo taken and signed her name. There were no fingerprints this time around though.






 

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